Yemen strikes: coalition claims 9 targets hit as Riyadh airport reopens

Saudi-backed forces struck Houthi positions in Yemen on Monday as missile fire continued across the region. The Saudi-led coalition spokesman, Turki al-Maliki, said in a post on X that its forces destroyed four ballistic missile launchers and five tunnels used by the Houthis to store missiles. He said the operation "aimed at neutralising sources of threat" and "focused on cutting off Houthi militia supply lines between areas under their control".

Al-Maliki said coalition forces also attacked a missile depot, along with Houthi fortifications, gatherings of members, and military equipment along front lines inside Yemen. He added that Saudi air defences "intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh." On Sunday, the coalition said air defences intercepted at least 10 ballistic missiles. Saudi civil defence reported two people injured in the south by falling debris, along with damage to buildings and vehicles.

Flights resumed at Riyadh's King Khalid International airport on Sunday following its temporary closure. The facility had been shut after an attack on the airport this month that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the deadliest strike on the kingdom in more than a decade. The closure also forced the postponement of Saudi Arabia's flagship investment conference until 2027. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Monday that his side attacked the airport "with a ballistic missile, striking the target with precision." The Houthis have told travellers to avoid the facility, calling it a "military target."

Saree also said the Houthis struck oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia with drones. He claimed further ballistic missile attacks on forces and weapons depots in Yemen, targeting positions in the Salah al-Din area of Aden governorate and the al-Wahat area of Lahij governorate.

Yemen's war reignited this summer after the Houthis announced a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, which intervened in 2015 to back the government ousted from Sanaa in 2014. A 2022 truce collapsed last month when the Houthis launched an offensive, taking much of Yemen's Red Sea coast and striking Saudi energy sites. Government forces began a counteroffensive this month called "Operation Yemen Dawn."

As operations resumed at Riyadh airport, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss air defence. His office said Mitsotakis "responded favourably to the kingdom's request to keep the Patriot system in Saudi Arabia, given the current challenging circumstances." Greece deployed the US-made Patriot battery to Saudi Arabia in 2021, where it protects energy infrastructure at Yanbu on the Red Sea coast.

Saudi Arabia's official press agency released images showing a building with part of its upper facade destroyed, exposing metal rods, and other images of large windows shattered with glass across the pavement and road.